Mozart:
String Quartets Nos. 14, 16 and 19
(These String Quartets were dedicated to Joseph Haydn.)
When he dedicated a set of six quartets to Haydn in 1785, Mozart was acknowledging Joseph Haydn’s supremacy in this form of music making. However, Mozart did more than just imitate him; he integrated Haydn’s innovations into his own style, thereby producing a new milestone of Viennese Classicism.
The three quartets played on this CD by Cuarteto Casals are among Mozart’s finest and are truly masterpieces of the genre.
We get to hear the following music by Mozart:
Quartet #16 in E-Flat, K. 428
Quartet #19 in C-Major K. 465 (“Dissonance”)
Quartet #14 in G-Major, K. 387
Performed by the Cuarteto Casals.
The Guardian wrote on 4th September 2014:
“They launch into every movement with tremendous relish, on such a tide of rich, deep string tone that they could be playing Brahms or Dvorak, and it comes with equally full-blooded, expressive inflections. It is very involving to begin with, as such musical generosity draws you into the performance – welcomes you almost. But after a while it all seems a bit too obvious and generalized.”
Here are the individual movement titles for each quartet:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: String Quartet No. 14 in G major, K387 ‘Spring’
I. Allegro vivace assai
II. Menuetto. Allegretto – Trio
III. Andante cantabile
IV. Molto allegro
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: String Quartet No. 16 in E flat, K428
I. Allegro non troppo
II. Andante con moto
III. Menuetto. Allegretto – Trio
IV. Allegro vivace
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: String Quartet No. 19 in C major, K465 ‘Dissonance’
I. Adagio – Allegro
II. Andante cantabile
III. Menuetto. Allegro – Trio
IV. Allegro molto
Here is the Cuarteto Casals playing Debussy:
And next, here is an early Mozart quartet, K.80:
Finally, let me finish with the performance of the Beethoven quartet Op. 133, “Grosse Fuge”:
Tags: Cuarteto Casals, Debussy, Mozart, Quartet #14, Quartet #16, Quartet #19